Katie Holmes: “I Was A Very Nervous Mother”

Actress Katie Holmes covers Dujour and opens up about daughter Suri, 8, and her acting career.

On taking a maternity leave: “I totally admire women who go back to work six weeks after giving birth but when she was little, I was not ready. I was a very nervous mother—like, sleeping next to her crib—and I was in that mode for a long time.”

On trying to live a normal life: “Even early on, when I was a young actor and all of a sudden people knew who I was, my dad told me, ‘Don’t let that change how you live your life.’ I’ve always sort of approached it that way. You have to continue to do the things you want to do and not let outside forces dictate.”

On her career: “I think I’ve gotten more comfortable with acting over time. Early on, I could never get out of my head. I’d be thinking, ‘I have to get the job.’ And even when I had the job, I was afraid that I was going to get fired, or I just had the mentality of, ‘I need to be good enough. But the more projects you do, the older you get, the more life experience you get, you start to understand storytelling better. So you’re a little bit more confident going in. You’re not afraid of getting fired: You just want to contribute.”